J.P. Morgan Chase JPM -0.21% & Co. stepped up the pace of bank cost cutting, setting plans to eliminate 17,000 jobs by the end of next year and reduce expenses by at least $1 billion annually.

The move announced Tuesday by the New York company, the nation's most profitable bank in 2012 and the biggest U.S. lender by assets, will reduce its staff by 6.5% in one of the most aggressive reductions to date amid widespread financial-industry cutbacks.

Looking to buy a new car, truck or crossover? You may find it more difficult to stretch the household budget than you expected, according to a new study that finds median-income families in only one major U.S. city actually can afford the typical new vehicle.

The typical new vehicle is now more expensive than ever, averaging $30,500 in 2012, according to TrueCar.com data, and heading up again as makers curb the incentives that helped make their products more affordable during the recession when they were desperate for sales.

According to the 2013 Car Affordability Study by Interest.com, only in Washington could the typical household swing the payments, the median income there running $86,680 a year. At the other extreme, Tampa, Fla., was at the bottom of the 25 large cities included in the study, with a median household income of $43,832.

The study looked at a variety of household expenses, such as food and housing, and when it comes to purchasing a new vehicle, it considered more than just the basic purchase price, down payment and monthly note, factoring in such essentials as taxes and insurance.

( More From CNBC: 10 Super-Hot Cars That You Will Never Drive )

Bottom line? A buyer in the capital can purchase a car with a sticker price of $31,940, slightly more than the new vehicle average for the 2013 model year and about what it would cost for a mid-range Ford Fusion sedan or a stripped-down BMW X1 crossover. The buyer in Tampa? They'll just barely cover the cost of a basic Kia Rio, with $14,516 to spend.

"If you live in New York City or San Francisco, you're probably going to have to pay a lot for housing, but you don't have to pay a lot for a car," said Mike Sante, the managing editor of Interest.com, a financial decision-making website.

Affordability has been a matter of growing concern for the auto industry in recent years as prices have continued to move upward. Even the most basic of today's cars are generally loaded with features that were once found on high-line models a few decades back - if they were available at all - such as air conditioning, power windows, airbags and electronic stability control, as well as digital infotainment systems. They also have to meet ever tougher federal safety, emissions and mileage standards that have added thousands to the typical price tag.

( More From CNBC: Must-Have Super Car: $1.6 Million and Not Yet Legal )

"The average compact car of today has the features of a midsize model somebody might be trading in - but it may be just as expensive," said David Sargent, director of automotive operations for J.D. Power and Associates.

That is one reason why many buyers have been downsizing in recent years, said Bill Fay, general manager of Toyota, though he added that "there is still a lot of affordability in the marketplace."

Perhaps, but industry planners have come to recognize that they are targeting a much smaller segment of the American public than in decades past. That's one reason why most manufacturers are offering more downsized models.

They also are working with their dealers to offer certified pre-owned programs where buyers can stretch their budget by purchasing a two- or three-year-old vehicle that has gone through an extensive inspection and, if necessary, repairs and replacements. Such vehicles may cost slightly more than a conventional used model but usually include a like-new warranty.

( More From CNBC: The Detroit Auto Show's Hottest Cars )

While the typical new vehicle will likely nudge up this year, Interest.com editor Sante stressed that car costs are one of the most controllable parts of a household's budget. "You're better off driving something more affordable and saving or investing the difference."

If the typical new car costs $30,550, with an average monthly payment of $550, the five cities most able to meet - or come close - are:

1) Washington

Average Household Income: $86,680

Affordable Purchase Price: $31,940

Maximum monthly payment: $628

2) San Francisco

Average Household Income: $71,975

Affordable Purchase Price: $26,786

Maximum monthly payment: $537

3) Boston

Average Household Income: $69.455

Affordable Purchase Price: $26,025

Maximum monthly payment: $507

4) Baltimore

Average Household Income: $65,463

Affordable Purchase Price: $24,079

Maximum monthly payment: $468

5) Minneapolis

Average Household Income: $63,352

Affordable Purchase Price: $24,042

Maximum monthly payment: $470

At the other end of the scale, those five cities least able to handle a car payment are:

Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in January even as incomes dropped by the most in 20 years, showing households were weathering the payroll-tax increase by socking away less money in the bank.

Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, climbed 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 76 economists called for a 0.2 percent advance. Incomes slumped 3.6 percent, sending the saving rate down to the lowest level since November 2007.

Employment gains, the rebound in housing and growing demand for autos will probably keep supporting consumer spending in the first quarter as the world’s largest economy picks up from an end-of-year slowdown. Even so, rising gasoline prices and the need to rebuild nest eggs may make it difficult for households to match last quarter’s performance.

“It’s going to be touch and go for the consumer for the next few months,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania, who correctly projected the 3.6 percent drop in income. “The consumer is going to be able to support the recovery, but they’re not going to be able to take it” to a higher level, he said.

Stocks Drop Stock-index futures held earlier losses after the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing this month dropped 0.4 percent to 1,506.7 at 9:03 a.m. in New York.

Projections for spending ranged from a drop of 0.2 percent to a 0.4 percent gain.

The Bloomberg survey median called for incomes to fall 2.4 percent.

The slump in incomes in January was the biggest since January 1993 and followed a 2.6 percent jump in December. Some companies paid dividends and employee bonuses earlier than usual before tax rates went up this year, removing a gain usually seen in January. The Commerce Department estimated the January level of wages was reduced by about $15 billion and December was boosted by about $30 billion, reflecting the timing of the bonuses.

The saving rate dropped to 2.4 percent from 6.4 percent. Disposable income, or the money left over after taxes, dropped 4 percent after adjusting for inflation, the biggest plunge since monthly records began in 1959.

Consumer Spending Adjusting consumer spending for inflation, which renders the figures used to calculate gross domestic product, purchases rose 0.1 percent in January for a second month, today’s report showed.

Consumer purchases grew at a 2.1 percent annualized pace in the fourth quarter, up from 1.6 percent in the previous three months, as Americans bought more durable goods including automobiles.

The economy grew at a 0.1 percent rate from October through December, less than forecast, as companies reined in gains in inventories and national defense outlays dropped 22 percent, the biggest since 1972, Commerce Department data showed yesterday.

Today’s report showed a price gauge tied to consumer spending, which are the figures tracked by Federal Reserve policy makers, was little changed in January from the prior month. Over the past 12 months prices rose 1.2, the smallest year-to-year gain since October 2009. The rate compares with the central bank’s goal of 2 percent.

Excluding food and energy costs, prices climbed 1.3 percent in January from the same month in 2012, the smallest year-to- year gain since April 2011.

“Available information suggests that economic growth has picked up again this year,” Bernanke said earlier this week in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee in Washington.

Still, Bernanke cited an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that the spending cuts known as sequestration will cause a 0.6 percentage-point reduction in growth this year.

“Given the still-moderate underlying pace of economic growth, this additional near-term burden on the recovery is significant,” he said.

The expiration of the payroll tax cut in January, coupled with climbing gasoline prices, are trimming discretionary income and may damp household purchases in the first quarter.

Payroll Tax Congress and President Barack Obama allowed the payroll tax to return to its 2010 level of 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent at the start of the year, which means an American who earns $50,000 is taking home about $83 less a month.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline at the pump rose to $3.78 on Feb. 27, little changed from the previous day’s rate that was the highest in more than four months, according to AAA, the biggest U.S. motoring group.

On a brighter note, sentiment is rebound as employment grows. The Conference Board’s sentiment index jumped in February from a revised 58.4 in January, data from the New York-based private research group showed this week. The measure’s 11.2- point jump was the biggest since November 2011, offsetting much of the almost 15-point slide over the previous three months.

Interest Rates Interest rates hovering near record lows and growing availability of credit are buoying the auto industry, including Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based AutoNation Inc. (AN), the biggest dealership group in the U.S. Attractive financing may push sales comfortably above 15 million this year, the highest since 2007.

“We have the best financing available for our customers ever,” Mike Jackson, chief executive officer of AutoNation, told a J.D. Power & Associates conference this month in Orlando, Florida.

Cars and light trucks sold at a 15.2 million annual rate in January after 15.3 million in December, according to data from Ward’s Automotive Group. Including November’s 15.5 million rate, auto sales over the past three months have been the strongest in five years. February data is scheduled for release today.

People are running out of cash and having to pile on debt to make ends meet.

Add in the 2% Payroll tax hike, rising gas prices and inflation and you get yourself a pretty bad picture for the bottom 90%.

Why don't you be honest and thank him for the 2% payroll tax cut you received from President Obama rather than piss and moan about it expiring. We as a nation are undertaxed and during the 1st 4 years of the Obama Administration we paid historically LOW taxes. Fact, not fiction dilweed.

Why don't you be honest and thank him for the 2% payroll tax cut you received from President Obama rather than piss and moan about it expiring. We as a nation are undertaxed and during the 1st 4 years of the Obama Administration we paid historically LOW taxes. Fact, not fiction dilweed.

Speaking of fiction.....

And saying we are "undertaxed" is laughable. Add up Federal/State/Local taxes and the total taxation is around 60% or so of your income.

With tax hikes and rising gasoline prices sapping consumers' pocketbooks and politicians preaching sequester gloom and doom, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index plunged 5.1 points in March to 42.2, the lowest since December 2011.

The federal economic policies confidence gauge fell 11% to 35.5, also a 15-month low. The six-month outlook index cratered 18% to 38.8, the worst since October 2011. The personal financial outlook reading lost 4.4% to 52.2, though that's still above the neutral 50 level separating optimism and pessimism.

January personal income tumbled 3.6%, the worst monthly drop in 20 years, in the wake of fiscal cliff tax hikes on payrolls and high earners. Gasoline prices climbed day after day. Stock prices have wobbled as Italy's inconclusive election revived concerns about the eurozone and global economy. Meanwhile, President Obama has been campaigning across the country, warning that automatic spending cuts will have a disastrous impact on government services and the economy. The sequestration just took effect this month.

Small wonder the overall index's 10.8% decline was the worst since August 2011. That's when Standard & Poor's downgraded U.S. sovereign debt during the debt ceiling fight. To end the standoff, the White House proposed the sequester, which Obama now derides as "dumb" cuts.

Obama's popularity hasn't been affected by the deteriorating economic optimism.

The IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership Index rose 1.5 points in March to 51.6, a four-month high.

Democrats, however, showed a sharp drop in their economic optimism. Their index reading fell 9.4 points to 58.6, the lowest since the end of 2011. But the decline was deep and widespread, with independents, women and investors the most pessimistic since late 2011.

"Americans across the board think that the economic outlook is grim," said Raghavan Mayur, president of TIPP, a unit of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, IBD's polling partner. "The big slide in our economic outlook subindex perhaps signals a turning point and an impending entry into a recession. This month nearly 60% believe that the economy is in a recession."

Fifty-nine percent of Americans responding say the U.S. is in a recession vs. 35% who say it isn't. That includes 61% of independents. But those readings haven't changed much in recent months.

Consumers haven't necessarily let their fears override their spending habits. Real consumer spending rose just 0.1% in January, with outlays on big-ticket durable goods lower. Yet other reports show housing continuing to improve, with General Motors (GM), Toyota (TM) and others reporting solid auto sales in March. Manufacturing activity has picked up the pace while business investment showed some signs of life.

Major retailers will report March sales figures on Thursday. On Friday, the Labor Department will release its monthly employment report.

IBD/TIPP conducted the national poll of 847 adults from February 25 to March 4. The margin of error is +/-3.4 percentage points.

As for Washington, Obama wants higher taxes as part of any sequester offset. But Republicans say they won't support another round of tax hikes so soon. They also point out, despite qualms about defense cutbacks, the spending cuts are equal to just one-quarter of 1% of the U.S. economy.

The sequester squabble may get folded into bigger budget battles on the horizon. Congress must approve a new continuing resolution to fund the government. Soon after that, the debt ceiling must be raised yet again. Political uncertainty will continue for the foreseeable future, with short-term, last-minute budget fudges likelier than a sweeping, long-term "grand bargain."

By ABC NewsMar 5, 2013 9:33amThe Dow Jones industrial average surged to a record high this morning at the opening bell, surpassing a key level in its recovery from the 2008 financial meltdown.

The Dow rose 92 points to 14,221 at 9:49 a.m., topping the previous record high of 14,164 achieved on Oct. 9, 2007.

An index of 30 of the largest US companies, the Dow is a widely-watched indicator of the stock market. It has more than doubled from its low reached in 2009 after the government bailed out the major banks, which were crushed under the weight of bad mortgages fueled by easy-lending policies.

Stocks have been in a five-year bull market, helped by the Federal Reserve, which has kept interest rates near zero to assist in the recovery of the housing market.

The Dow is up 7.8 percent for the year, one of its best starts ever. The Standard & Poor’s index rose 11 points to 1,536. It’s also within striking distance of its own record of 1,565. The Nasdaq was up 30 points at 3,212. Asian markets rose as China pledged to stick to ambitious growth targets for its economy, the world’s second largest. European stocks also jumped because of retail sales in the region rose sharply.

By ABC NewsMar 5, 2013 9:33amThe Dow Jones industrial average surged to a record high this morning at the opening bell, surpassing a key level in its recovery from the 2008 financial meltdown.

The Dow rose 92 points to 14,221 at 9:49 a.m., topping the previous record high of 14,164 achieved on Oct. 9, 2007.

An index of 30 of the largest US companies, the Dow is a widely-watched indicator of the stock market. It has more than doubled from its low reached in 2009 after the government bailed out the major banks, which were crushed under the weight of bad mortgages fueled by easy-lending policies.

Stocks have been in a five-year bull market, helped by the Federal Reserve, which has kept interest rates near zero to assist in the recovery of the housing market.

The Dow is up 7.8 percent for the year, one of its best starts ever. The Standard & Poor’s index rose 11 points to 1,536. It’s also within striking distance of its own record of 1,565. The Nasdaq was up 30 points at 3,212. Asian markets rose as China pledged to stick to ambitious growth targets for its economy, the world’s second largest. European stocks also jumped because of retail sales in the region rose sharply.

New York City Leads Jump in Homeless .Article Video Comments (138) more in New York | Find New $LINKTEXTFIND$ ».smaller Larger facebooktwittergoogle pluslinked ininShare.15EmailPrintSave ↓ More .

By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL

An average of more than 50,000 people slept each night in New York City's homeless shelters for the first time in January, a record that underscores an unsettling national trend: a rising number of families without permanent housing.

New York City's homeless population reached a record 50,000 reported individuals in January, and is indicative of a troubling national trend. Michael Howard Saul explains. Photo: Getty Images..Families have become a larger share of the nation's homeless population, growing 1.4% from 2011 to 2012, after their numbers fell as the economy emerged from recession.

In Boston, authorities said there were 1,166 homeless families in December 2012, up 7.8% from the previous year. In Washington, D.C., homeless families grew 18% from 2011 to 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Enlarge Image

Close.From the ArchivesMayor Draws Fire With Remark on Homelessness City to Expand Shelters Amid Jump in Homeless City's Homeless Count Tops 40,000 11/9/2011.The numbers in New York, however, are starker, according to a report to be published Tuesday by the Coalition for the Homeless, a New York advocacy group, citing New York City government figures.

More than 21,000 children—an unprecedented 1% of the city's youth—slept each night in a city shelter in January, an increase of 22% in the past year, the report said, while homeless families now spend more than a year in a shelter, on average, for the first time since 1987. In January, an average of 11,984 homeless families slept in shelters each night, a rise of 18% from a year earlier.

"New York is facing a homeless crisis worse than any time since the Great Depression," said Mary Brosnahan, president of the Coalition for the Homeless.

Enlarge Image

ClosePeter Foley for The Wall Street Journal

Yolanda Walker, a 42-year-old mother of four, is living with her family at a homeless shelter in Brooklyn, N.Y..State and local governments nationwide have struggled to accommodate a homeless population that has changed, including large numbers of families with young children. Homeless advocates said the Obama administration has focused on more visible problems, such as those sleeping on the streets, taking resources away from families. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials, who oversee federal homelessness programs, didn't respond to requests for comment.

New York City has seen one of the steepest increases in homeless families in the past decade, advocates said, growing 73% since 2002. The surge was accelerated by the financial crisis and mortgage meltdown, which put many lower-middle class families out of their homes, economists have said. And even though New York City has regained all the jobs it lost in the recession, economists have said they are lower-paying ones.

The steep rise has reignited questions about whether New York's economic turnaround of the past two decades has helped the city's poorest residents. Aides to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent whose three terms have seen big increases in homelessness, partially blamed the surge on the economy.

"The economy is nowhere near where it was," said Seth Diamond, commissioner of the city's Department of Homeless Services. He pointed to the end of a state-funded program that subsidized rent for people leaving shelters, which ended in spring 2011; homeless families have gone up 35% since, according to shelter records.

However, Mr. Diamond said fewer homeless families are applying to enter the shelter system now than they were two years ago. He said the city was working to find employment for the homeless, "a long-term solution."

Advocates say the city's problems predate the end of the rent-subsidy program. Patrick Markee, a senior policy analyst at the New York coalition, said Mr. Bloomberg's administration in 2005 ended a policy that had been working since the 1990s, in which the city allocated a share of federal public-housing apartments and federal housing vouchers to homeless families.

Among New York City's homeless families are Yolanda Walker, 42 years old, and her four children, including a disabled daughter. They have lived in a two-bedroom unit in a Brooklyn shelter since she lost an apartment that was government-subsidized up until last year. "I couldn't hardly afford it back then," Ms. Walker said. "I'm trying to get out. But I've got a family to feed."

46,609,072 People on Food Stamps in 2012; Record 47,791,996 in December

Nearly a quarter of the people living in Washington, D.C. are on the program.

9:13 AM, Mar 11, 2013 • By DANIEL HALPER

On Friday, the United States Department of Agriculture quietly released new statistics related to the food stamps program, officially known as SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The numbers reveal, in 2012, the food stamps program was the biggest it's ever been, with an average of 46,609,072 people on the program every month of last year. 47,791,996 people were on the program in the month of December 2012.

The federal government also says that in a given month in 2012, the number of households on food stamps was 22,329,713.

The state with the highest average number of participants per month in 2012 was Texas, with an astonishing 4,038,440 folks drawing from the program. The second highest is California, with 3,964,221, and then Florida, at 3,353,064.

Washington, D.C., with an estimated population of 617,996, had an average of 141,147 participants. Meaning, roughly 23 percent of folks living in D.C. are on food stamps, according to the numbers provided by the federal government. The participation rate in Texas, which has an estimated population of 26,059,203, 15.5 percent.

The state with the lowest number of participants in the program was Wyoming, with 34,347 out an estimated population of 576,412.

Over the weekend, Senator Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said that the Obama administration is encouraging growth in the food stamps program as a way to stimulate the economy.

"Amazingly, the federal government says that the more people we have on food stamps, the more it grows the economy. The Department of Agriculture proudly declares: ‘Each $5 in new [food stamp] benefits generates almost twice that amount in economic activity for the community.’ Our government is running food stamp promotions at foreign embassies. One worker was given an award for overcoming ‘mountain pride’ and getting more people to sign up. Where I grew up in Alabama, all honest work, even the hardest, was honored. And pride, self-respect, and a desire to be independent was valued, not a thing to be overcome," said Sessions, who delivered the weekly Republican address.

Sessions also pointed out that cities like Baltimore, which he said have have been "governed by liberal policies for decades," see particularly high numbers of participation in the program.

"Despite this fountain of federal funds, 1 in 3 children still live in poverty in our nation’s capital. Two in three children live in single parent homes. In nearby Baltimore--another city governed by liberal policies for decades--1 in 3 residents are on food stamps and in 1 in 3 youth live in poverty. Americans are committed to helping our sisters and brothers who are struggling, but we are seeing the damaging human consequences of our broken welfare state," said Sessions.

"We spend a trillion dollars each year on federal poverty programs. That’s more than the budget for Social Security or Defense. But poverty seems only to increase. Something is wrong. Compassion demands that we change."

As the Wall Street Journal reports, the latest Census Bureau data suggest that the recession-related decline in migration is being reversed, but demographer Kenneth Johnson of the University of New Hampshire says that bad economic times still seem to be depressing the birth rate.

Last year, he calculated, 1,135 U.S. counties — 36% of all counties — recorded more deaths than births. There haven’t been so many counties with what demographics call “natural decrease” in all of U.S. history, he says. Last year for the first time in U.S history, deaths exceeded births in two entire states. More people died (12,857) than were born (12,754) in Maine, while West Virginia has had more deaths than births for a number of years.

“With few young adults and a growing older population, the future viability of many natural-decrease areas is not encouraging,” he said. “Economic development, an influx of minorities, high levels of civic engagement and community cohesion have broken the downward spiral of natural decrease in some areas, but many remain at risk. “

Natural decrease is more prevalent because residents of the U.S. are having fewer babies. There were 3,954,000 births last year compared to a record 4,316,000 in 2006-2007, a decline of 8.3% in just five years.

A Boeing spokesperson confirmed on Friday that the company will lay off 800 workers, as well as reduce its overall workforce by 2,000 or more in 2013.

According to a company spokesperson, the layoffs will be primarily of workers in the 787 and 747 post-assembly facilities, all machinists, in Everett. The additional 2,000 to 2,300 positions will be elimated through attrition and transfers.

there are plenty of people doing very well, growing their business, starting new businesses etc..

Perpetual Losers spend their time complaining about how bad things are and never make any effort to change their lives (I'm sure you know a few people like that)

Even moderately successful people don't waste their time with such nonsense and instead focus on creating opportunities or going out and finding business, etc..

Hmmm-- do perpetual losers include the base of the democratic party?

In a pathetic attempt to sound witty and intelligent, you just inadvertently sunk your entire political ideology in one foul swoop.

Are you prepared to travel to the inner city and tell all of those poor, helpless, hardworking minority groups stuck in generation after generation of poverty and government dependency that they are as you put it, "losers"?

You sound like a 47%er.

It seems that you succeeded in contradicting yourself and being a racist at the same time. Will you also be changing your voter registration card from D to R?

We still don't support gay marriage, so you might want to start a third party-- the "Hates poor people but supports gay marriage" platform. You and Bill Mahr should start a support group.